They are done!

I finished up the bold man socks on the weekend. They were an easy knit, but I’m glad to have them done – I’m ready for something new.

As you know, there was nothing fancy with this pair – just simple 2-2 garter rib on the leg and a plain foot. The red really overtakes the purple in these, though the skein was dyed half and half.

But that’s the fun of hand-dyed yarn. You never know how it’s going to knit up!

As promised, I’ve got some new fabrics to refresh my work on with the weekly Blockhead blocks.

It’s a cute little fat quarter bundle I got from an Etsy seller. There’s also a half yard panel with those cute cats that I might be able to work in some how.

For this quilt, I’m going to stick with more traditional style blocks. If non-traditional blocks come up one week, I’ll sub it with something else from the first 30 weeks. I’m also making smaller blocks this time around – 8 inches, as opposed to 12 inches.

Week 31 was a basket square, and I did a little bit of fussy cutting to get the right look?. Because who doesn’t love a cat in a basket?

I’ve been into the paints again.

I mentioned the other week that my new Hibiscus needed a proper home, and I had an old terra cotta pot that was just the right size. But it was in definite need of a make-over, so I gave it a quick coat of white paint….

And settled in to work. A wash of blue here, some quick pencil sketches, some measured brush strokes, a coat or two of clear, and a few hours later….

There was a school of colourful Koi playing amongst the bubbles.

I think the Hibiscus looks happy in her new home.

And it will be a nice colourful addition for the house when she comes in for the winter.

August is now over half over and fall is definitely on its way. How can I tell? It’s not the crisp nights (though they are here). It’s not that the squirrels are working overtime to gather as many nuts as possible (though they are). It’s that my sedum is starting to bloom.

This is one of the main fall sources of food for the bees come September, so I’ve got several plants throughout the gardens. It also provides a nice pretty pop of pink (and it’s virtually maintenance free).

My Chrysanthemum is also getting buds – a sure sign of the impending autumn.

But no one told the marigold that summer is on its way out.

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They are going gang busters.

We’re still getting lots of treats from the mini food garden.

The beans have just blown me away this year. I get a little colander full every couple of days

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And the roses love the disappearance of the humidity.

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And now is the time of year when the sunflowers really start to shine.

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And the butterfly bush is in bloom

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It’s a favourite of the Monarchs – a last fueling station before they hit the road to Mexico.

The season may be winding down, but there’s still so much beauty to be found!

Today’s Friday Felines has gone to the dogs….

As mentioned several times this week, I spent last Saturday keeping these two company. It’s not hard work by any means. They are good puppers.

Chevy likes to play fetch. And like Double Stuff the squirrel, he’s all about two. TWO BALLS at all times. Usually both are in his mouth. If you are lucky, he’ll drop one for you to throw. But most of the time, he wants you to pick up a THIRD ball and throw it. He’ll chase after it, but he can’t get three balls in his mouth (believe me, he’s tried), so instead he stands there and looks at you. Then you have to walk over, pick it up, and throw it again. And again, and again….

Jem doesn’t play fetch. Oh she’ll run after a ball now and again, but don’t expect her to bring it back. She prefers tug-o-war with a rope or stuffie. There’s no pictures of that because I needed both hands to play. She is one strong dog. I have to make sure I have a good, steady wide stance, because she’s strong enough to pull me off my feet.

And I suppose we can’t let Friday go by without at least one feline…

Even if (or simply because) she’s taken over the dog crate as her own personal palace.

The family wedding is creeping up in just a few weeks, so while I had a spare afternoon, I wanted to get the top together and ready for quilting.

Nothing fancy for the layout, just some simple thin sashing like I did on the Bumbleberry Sampler. When you’ve got a lot going on with busy blocks like this, I think simple it better.

And simple for the border too…

I had just enough of this pretty brown ditsy print to do a three inch border all around. I love it because of those red circles, which tie it back in with all the red throughout the blocks.

The sashing and the borders brought the final size out to 76″ x 90″. A nice substantial size.

And as you can see from these pictures, the whole process was absolutely exhausting for my snoopervisor.

Life is just sooooo hard!

Thank you for all your lovely comments on both mine, and Paisley’s quilts!

But it’s not just quilting around here – occasionally, I do still knit! I knew Royal Stars wouldn’t take me long to quilt on the long-arm, so I also packed some knitting.

After quilting, lunch, a couple games of fetch (Chevy) and tug-o-war (Jem), and brief break…

I still had a couple of hours left to knit.  So I put on a good movie and got to it!

By the time I was ready to pack up, I had the leg of the funky man-sock finished.

Now it’s onto the heel and down the foot to victory!

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P.S.: I find it odd that both my knitting and quilting project matched that day…

As I mentioned yesterday, the girls  went back home on Saturday, but Miss Pee did manage to finish her quilt before they left.

It’s not her first quilt – she made a lap sized rail fence quilt a couple years ago – but it is her biggest. I believe they said it’s 76″ x 90″. That’s a big quilt for just a week.

Paisley was too nervous to use the long arm, so Mom did the quilting – nothing fancy, because they only had a day left, but the thread is variegated purple, so there’s a little extra pop on those black triangles.

The back is this pretty charcoal scroll print. And some purple “confetti” bound it all together.

 

On Saturday,  the Mom returned the munchkins to Oz. Normally, I keep her company for the trip, but  this time, Dad wanted to go.  It’s 3 hours one way and with visiting time thrown in, it’s a full-day excursion.  That meant someone needed to stay with his puppers, feed them, love them, and let them out for pee breaks.

I figured if I was going to be stuck there all day, I might as well make good use of the time. Naturally, that means quilting… so I give you…

Royal Stars!

To refresh your memory, I finished the top back in March, just as all the COVID fun started heating up.  That meant no visiting Mom to get it quilted. But that was fine because I didn’t have a back for it.

Well when Dad asked me to dog-sit, I still didn’t have a back for it, but it was the only top I had done and ready to quilt. So off to Lens I went…

Nothing fancy, just a nice, rich red with some simple cross-hatching. I paid more than I am used to for a back (especially for a lap quilt), but the clearance table where I get my sweet deals was pretty well wiped out. Still I saved 20% (it was on sale), and I have a good chunk left, as the piece was 108″ wide (specifically made for quilt backing).

The binding was leftover from the back of Crosstown Traffic, and it’s pretty beige and gold tones highlight the neutrals throughout the quilt.

The border and sashing stars were leftover bits from the back ofSewing on my Back Porch.

And the patchwork stars were made from a Craftsy charm pack I got on clearance.

I love how all those different elements came together to make a pretty little lap quilt!

 

 

Another day… another buffet…

Despite the regular peanut offering at Squirrelington’s those little tree rats still love raiding the bird feeders. So, I added some black oil sunflower seeds to our offerings.

It’s been a hit.

Little Mama loves the seeds the most. She even sticks around to eat them, instead of just running off like she does with the peanuts.

Mr. Double Stuff still prefers the big nuts.

What a guy!